“The Afghan Taliban leader has said his fighters were close to victory in driving foreign forces out of the country.

In a message on Wednesday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month Ramadan, Mullah Omar called on Afghans to redouble their struggle and push for foreign troops to withdraw, saying the Nato-led coalition was losing the war.

He said victory “over the invading infidels is now imminent” attributing the progress to “belief in the help of Allah and unity among ourselves”.

He said “those military experts who have framed strategies of the invasion of Afghanistan or are now engaged in hammering out new strategies, admit themselves that all their strategies are nothing but a complete failure”.

The Taliban leader added that the occupying foreign forces “are now under pressures from their people due to the growing and heavy military expenditures, casualties and the fruitlessness of the war”.

Mullah Omar called on Barack Obama, the US president, to withdraw troops “unconditionally and as soon as possible” saying it is “the best option for regional stability”.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010990391117976.html